Science lessons are crazy mad fun
PENN TWP — Students at Penn Christian Academy, 199 Airport Road, are becoming “mad scientists,” thanks to a new afterschool program.
Fifty kindergarten through sixth-grade students started the new year making slime, creating explosions and learning scientific concepts with Mad Science of Pittsburgh.
Sara McGee, PTO secretary at the school, helped bring Mad Science's “Crazy Chemworks” to the academy. She said about one-third of the students attended Chemworks sessions during a four-week run from January to February.
“This is the biggest afterschool program we've ever had, which is really great considering that it is an optional program and an additional cost to our families,” McGee said. “So we feel very blessed that we have a full house.”
Students were divided into two groups, with curriculum for kindergarten through second grade and third through sixth grade.
Pye Pajewski, director of special events at Mad Science of Pittsburgh, worked with the older students. She said her job focuses on “science enrichment” rather than traditional teaching.
“What we do is we get kids excited about science, so when they go into the classroom, they've already got that excitement and it helps the teacher,” Pajewski said. “It's not as sedated sometimes as the classroom. There's no tests. It's just a chance to explore.”
During the Jan. 29 class, Pajewski's students explored adhesion and cohesion with a water measurements lab.
McGee said the younger students learned about water properties earlier in January. While the younger group saw how water sticks to itself and other substances, the older students mixed compounds.
“That's what I mean about hands-on,” McGee said. “They're actually getting to do the stuff themselves. They take science (in school) twice a week, so it gives them an opportunity to reinforce all of that.”
The PTO introduced Crazy Chemworks at a whole-school assembly in mid-December. PTO President Kim Robertson said interested students then had the chance to register for Crazy Chemworks.Pajewski said Mad Science of Pittsburgh provides the curriculum, but it's flexible based on the needs and interests of the students.“We are free to allow the kids to take time if we find that they're absorbed in something that they're doing,” Pajewski said. “In a classroom, you only have so many class days and you have so much you've gotta get through, so they've got a little more time to explore here.”Third-grader Joshua George said he's a fan of the Chemworks program.“I really liked when we mixed (vinegar) and baking soda and it burst,” Joshua said of an experiment he conducted in one of the first weeks of the program.Quintin Howison, also in third grade, said he enjoyed the baking soda experiment, too, but his favorite class was about “how to make goo.”After the adhesion and cohesion lesson, Quinlin and his classmate Caleb Robertson shared what they learned.“We learned that salt water is easier to float than regular water,” Caleb said.Quinlin expanded on the idea, adding that “things can float on salt water, like little chips and food coloring.”Robertson said she believes Mad Science of Pittsburgh's success at Penn Christian Academy comes from how well it pairs with the school's regular science curriculum.McGee said getting students excited about science at this age is important to their overall academic success.“You see all these studies year after year after year about how much further the U.S. is getting behind in math and science,” McGee said. “To see this integrated throughout their day gives them another opportunity to love science and to have it be fun.”The last Crazy Chemworks class was Feb. 5. Robertson said the PTO plans to bring the program back next year.Although the Mad Science Group began more than 25 years ago, the Pittsburgh chapter launched in 2009, according to the Mad Science website. This was Penn Christian Academy's first time offering the program.
